


Bruises

by roxy55



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 08:28:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13853895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxy55/pseuds/roxy55
Summary: My Lotor Spring Exchange for RayRay on Tumblr: In which soulmates receive each other's cuts and bruises, and feel every pain the other feels.





	Bruises

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before watching season 5, which I loved every minute of, and this is honestly an idea I'd like to build on but bc this was for an exchange I tried to make it come to a slightly satisfying close... but yeah I'm considering writing maybe a sequel. Either way I hope you enjoy!

Soulmates existed, most everyone had one and that should have been a comfort for Lance but the connection between soulmates was strange and inconvenient. Every bruise or cut your soulmate gets you also receive, and you feel a phantom of their pain. Lance was never sure how people found their soulmates with just shared wounds, some people may never get hurt and never find their soulmate surely. He asked his mama about soulmates, criticizing the system with childlike spunk and wonder but seeing his parents together did leave him hopeful. 

At the age of eleven Lance was beginning to understand what it meant to have a soulmate, his soulmate was hurt for the first time and it wasn’t just that they stubbed their toe or fell down. His soulmate was hit hard, it left a ghastly bruise on his right side and Lance was sore for a few days after. When he asked his mama about the bruise, she kneeled down and gave him a small talk about how some people aren’t lucky enough to be liked by everyone. That he couldn’t know what his soulmate is going through, that they may not be lucky enough to have a nice home with nice parents or there may be a bully that doesn’t like them. So, logically Lance decided to dedicate his life to protecting his soulmate when they meet. No one would be able to hurt them again once he found them. 

The first bruise seemed to open the floodgate for several more injuries, black and blue bruises covering his body leaving little room for tan skin to show. Lance did notice it was always where clothes would cover, and mama cried for hours in mourning for his soulmate. She came to the conclusion that Lance’s soulmate lives in an abusive home, and that he was old enough to understand that his soulmate is hurting but they couldn’t do anything about it for now. Lance cried for them too. 

One day the bruises stopped appearing, and Lance couldn’t help the underlying fear that something much worse happened. However, his mama reassured him that they were fine and expressed hope that they found somewhere safe to live away from those who abused them. 

At the age of fifteen Lance was in gym class when he fell with a cry, no one had touched him but pain blossomed from his stomach and sent his body into tremors. Never before had he felt such pain, and if it weren’t for the deep cut that could only be explained by the phenomenon of soulmates Lance would have assumed one of his organs bursted. He was sent to the hospital and was blessed to only need stitches, but Lance worried endlessly for the fate of his soulmate. Even with the stitches Lance could feel the continuous burning and pain, it eventually faded but not without many tears and his heart hurting. 

When Lance was alone with a nurse he couldn’t help asking if his soulmate was dead, now that the pain was gone and the wound was healing. He was given a sad smile and a reluctant story of a woman who came in last year, she had yet to meet her soulmate and was inflicted with a gunshot wound to the chest even though she was shopping in the mall that afternoon and didn’t come in close contact with any guns. The nurse revealed that her soulmate was a soldier fighting overseas and when he died the woman knew, and so Lance would know. Apparently that same woman is okay now, living with another man that isn’t her soulmate, but the thought left Lance with a sour taste in his mouth. 

Suddenly his soulmate felt so far away, where could they possibly be that would hurt them so? 

At sixteen Lance was sure his soulmate was dead, a month after the stab wound he never discovered another bruise or cut as evidence that they were still around. He should be elated that they weren’t in a dangerous environment, but Lance couldn’t help fearing the worst after everything they had been through. At sixteen Lance was also admitted into the Galaxy Garrison, and by age seventeen Lance was riding into the dessert with his friends only to find a giant mechanical lion the next day. 

They saved a man Lance could only see as a hero, who was supposedly dead for a few months and now has a mechanical arm and believes in aliens. It was a strange turn of events, but everything came to light when Lance piloted a blue lion into space and saw a battle ship close to Earth. His heart dropped at the sight, his family and his soulmate could be in danger, but Shiro said they were after the lion and that leading them away from Earth should keep their planet safe. The lion sent them through a wormhole and the group of teens found themselves in a castle with more aliens, but these aliens were safe and one of them was a beautiful princess. But she wasn’t his soulmate, Allura has been asleep for ten thousand years and lost everything to the same aliens after the lions; that is a different kind of pain. 

He is the blue paladin of Voltron, his soulmate is far away maybe on Earth maybe on another planet, but they were alive as Lance received a clean cut on his wrist one day in training that wasn’t inflicted by his teammates. If it weren’t for the profuse amount of blood pouring from the wound and a dire need to seek medical attention Lance would have cried tears of joy. However, it was quickly determined that none of his teammates were his soulmate, leaving Lance with a strange anxiety that wouldn’t leave him for the remainder of the day. 

It was also determined that his soulmate could be an alien after Allura began receiving wounds parallel to those of Shiro, and there was a common feeling of bafflement amongst the paladins at the revelation that Allura and Shiro are soulmates. However, she didn’t feel any of his wounds before he was a paladin as she was in the cryopods, even when he lost his arm to the galra. That was definitely for the better. 

When they lost Shiro the team was in shambles for a week before Allura began to see bruises and cuts that could only be from her soulmate proving he is still alive. Keith searched harder than ever to find Shiro upon their discovery, and eventually he was found. Things didn’t go back to the way they were, Lance was still the red paladin and Keith was unwillingly the black paladin since the black lion wouldn’t take Shiro back. That didn’t stop Keith from slowly distancing himself, and with a sensation of helplessness hanging over the paladins, due to a new heir to the galra throne proving to be a threat, it still felt like they were falling apart. 

Keith left to be a part of the Blade of Marmora and that night Hunk approached Lance professing that Keith was his soulmate. Unsure how he would take his soulmate leaving him Lance opts to spend the rest of the day comforting Hunk, a small part of himself wishing life could be simple and that he could have a soulmate like Hunk. But nothing is so simple when they are fighting a war, anyone of them could be hurt or killed and losing a soulmate could mean the destruction of team Voltron. One paladin would be left unable to do more than mourn a lost soulmate and the team would be short a paladin, unable to form Voltron or fight with the same determination. 

Plans were shifting from fighting Prince Lotor, a hidden force that was becoming harder to pinpoint by the day, to building the coalition. Shiro is the black paladin again and they couldn’t be in a better place to rally the forces, save Keith leaving them to fight different battles. Lance could say at least that he is looking forward to time spent seeing real people, or aliens, rather than hours spent training or fighting the galra. The chase against Lotor left them exhausted and in poor spirits. This is a chance to heal and to remember what they are fighting for, who they’re fighting for. 

In the middle of planning Lance collapsed and blacked out without explanation or feeling a thing. The last he heard was the startled gasps and calls of his teammates, and when he woke up was stepping out of a crypod that should have saved him the worst of his pain. Still, Lance felt a concentrated ache in his shoulders and his entire body felt weary, as if he could pass out again. There was no doubt in his mind that something happened to his soulmate. 

Everyone was waiting patiently around the infirmary and Allura is the first to notice he’s awake, “Care to explain what happened back there Lance? We were worried sick, you just collapsed on the spot and we were concerned you may not wake up again.” 

Giving a sheepish smile and rubbing at his neck Lance says, “No it wasn’t anything like that, I’m actually pretty sure it was my soulmate.” His smile almost immediately falls and it becomes hard to ignore the way his heart races and his stomach ties itself in knots. 

“They’re not dead, right? I’ve never heard of someone falling unconscious when their soulmate gets hurt but,” Pidge asks, the question seemingly innocent but Lance can’t help flinching. 

Shaking his head Lance says, “No they’re not dead, but I don’t know what happened to them. They’ve already been through so much I can’t help but wonder,” trailing off in his reply, Lance unable to finish the thought. 

Shiro steps forward and puts a hand to his shoulder, “Things may seem hopeless right now, especially when we’re fighting a war and there’s no telling where your soulmate is, but with a little faith things can turn out. Once we defeat Zarkon things will start to get better, until then we just need to keep fighting.” 

And that was that, part of Lance wished somehow it would have lead to a life changing event for his soulmate that might result in their coming together. Chances are they aren’t in space, but Shiro is right in one aspect that they need to defeat the galra so it’s safe for his soulmate and for everyone to live in peace. Once he brings peace to the universe Lance can bring peace to his soulmate. 

Things became confusing when there were several occasions of galra-on-galra violence, and after Voltron unintentionally aided Prince Lotor’s escape from Zarkon’s forces the message heard across the universe was startling. Prince Lotor is a fugitive of the empire, and Zarkon is very much alive and at large. 

With the coalition larger than ever it was time to strike, and in the process of trying to take back one third of the empire Voltron was almost eliminated in one fell swoop. The plan seemed so well made that they couldn’t fail, but there was no predicting the witch’s intervention or that their saving grace would come in the form of Prince Lotor repaying them the favor of allowing his escape mere days ago. He wanted to talk negotiations, for the prince had nowhere else to go. There was team wide reluctancy, but they owed the galra prince their ear after saving the coalition and Voltron from complete obliteration. 

Lance wasn’t sure what he expected Lotor to look like, after all their first impression was inevitably tainted by the many faceless battles and the altercations between the paladins and his generals, that were noticeably absent. Lotor is alone, the only thing he bears with him is the ship made of trans-reality comet stolen from Voltron. Staying at the back of the group seemed the wisest choice to Lance, yet still as Lotor introduced himself needlessly and spoke of becoming allies the prince’s eyes wandered to Lance. Heart stricken with an irrational sense of fear Lance did his best to look anywhere but at Lotor. 

After they moved negotiations to the dining hall Keith and Kolivan joined them, so to represent the Blade’s hostile suspicion to Lotor’s intentions. Hunk was more so just glad to see Keith was okay, and when the meeting was concluded Lance didn’t miss his friend going up to Keith with nervous hands and taking advantage of the relief of victory. Lance should have been happy, proud even, but he couldn’t ignore the apprehension that came with Lotor’s arrival. 

Eventually they were allowed to rest, as the next day would be filled with strategizing the downfall of the empire now that they have the advantage of its prince turning against it. Shiro escorted Lotor to a holding cell which allowed most paladins to feel a sense of ease, it was supposed to make it easier to sleep. Instead, Lance woke up what felt like an hour later to an annoying pinch on his arm. So, Lance followed his suspicions. 

Finding himself standing across Lotor’s cell wasn’t how Lance expected things to turn out, but it wasn’t so far off after certain recent events. 

Lotor looks up at his entrance but there isn’t a change in expression despite the realization they both came to, “So it seems I was correct in my intuitions, you are my soulmate.” 

“I guess so,” the statement hit Lance like a freight train and he wasn’t sure what to do with the knowledge, “and I’d appreciate if you’d stop whatever you’re doing, I’m trying to sleep.” Gulping Lance crosses his arms at his chest and looks down on the prince who is sitting on the bed with his own unimpressed expression. 

Retracting the claws that were apparently digging into his arm and causing the annoyance Lotor responds, “I’m sure I’ve caused you more trouble than this in the past, but I was interested in sating my curiosity after the one time you nearly caused my own death.” 

This leaves Lance wide eyed and he digs through his memories to try and figure out what the prince could mean. When it clicks Lance frowns, “It was only four quintants after I became a paladin, Sendak invaded the castle and I sacrificed myself to save Coran. I’m sure it was quite the inconvenience, I would apologize but I’m not sorry for what I did. It saved one of the few remaining alteans alive and you’ve given me plenty of injuries in the past. I was worried sick too, which was hardly fair.” 

Lotor smiles leaving Lance startled, “I was never sure to what extent my soulmate would be receiving my injuries, until I fell unconscious and found myself with deadly burn marks down my back in the middle of a battle. I was lucky enough to have my generals who ensured my survival, though I had my doubts for you after that.” 

“That brings up the question,” Lance says as the memory is brought up at Lotor’s words, “I was knocked unconscious a few quintants ago, what happened there? You don’t look too bad, but I didn’t come out of that without feeling the after effects of whatever it was.” 

Any teasing nature Lotor held was traded for displeasure, “When my generals decided they couldn’t trust me I was shot with a stun gun, to be turned in to my father in exchange for their safety. I escaped before they could bring me near my father’s forces, I suppose it was a last show of mercy not killing me on sight.” 

Lance is left tongue tied and unsure of what to say, so he asked another question instead, “A few years ago there was something else, you were stabbed and I ended up in the hospital because I may as well have been stabbed too. It was the first time I was worried you might die before I could meet you, what happened?” 

“The black paladin told you of the gladiator battles he was forced in while he was captive, I’m sure, so you know of their brutal nature. I was younger and foolish in my tactics, I was gravely injured during a battle against an opponent far larger than myself, but I came out victorious. The druids healed me before it was an issue, it was a needless mistake.” Lotor doesn’t seem to hold as much distaste for the memory, though he doesn’t go into great detail either. 

Deciding to take this in stride Lance says, “Well anyways, now that you’re here I guess I’m just going to have to protect you so you’re never hurt again.” 

This successfully amuses the prince, “You’re going to protect me,” Lance already decided he preferred seeing this teasing nature Lotor has, if it could be helped he would make sure the prince would never have reason to feel down again. 

“It’s been my promise to you since I was a kid,” Lance looks seriously down at Lotor, “I know better than anyone on this castle what you’ve been through, you’ve been with me for most of my life and I was there for every scrape and bruise to the worst of your pain. If anyone is going to defend your case it will be me, I understand your pains.” 

His statement leaving the prince awestruck should have made Lance smile, but instead it added to his determination to defend Lotor. “You’ve been wronged for too long, this will be the moment things will change for the better. Goodnight Prince Lotor.” Lance left before the prince could get a word in, satisfied knowing he could finally fulfill his promise. 

 

The realization didn’t sit easy with Lance, even though he wanted to go back to sleep when he left it quickly became clear that would be impossible. Knowing the who to his injuries added a new weight on his shoulders, and though keeping the revelation private sounded nice Lance knew he would have to tell the team. 

Instead of keeping true to his word Lance decided it appropriate to go yell with Hunk in the middle of the night about his personal problems. Except, this issue is less a problem and more an epiphany that is easily life changing enough to justify seeking out his friend. The hour of night would make this difficult on both of them, and getting Hunk to actually open the door could prove to be a struggle but Lance is determined. 

When reaching his friend’s door Lance knocked obnoxiously for a few seconds before listening for any signs of life. “Hunk, are you in there? If you don’t open the door in a dobosh I’m coming in myself,” Lance leans his head against the door, only for it to slide open and Keith to be standing in the doorway with tired eyes and an annoyed frown. 

“Oh Keith, is Hunk awake I need to speak with him. It’s an emergency,” the last word catches Keith’s attention and he raises a curious brow at the tone of urgency. 

Crossing his arms at his chest Keith says, “No he isn’t, and I really don’t think you should wake him up. But, I’m already awake if you really need to talk.” 

This isn’t what he had in mind but Lance could roll with it, pulling Keith into the hall once the door shuts automatically he looks back and starts, “I figured out who my soulmate is and I’m having a crisis, I needed to get it off my chest.” 

“Isn’t that a good thing, knowing who your soulmate is?” Keith asks with a raised eyebrow and the corner of his mouth curved up right, hinting at a smile. “That mean’s it’s someone on board right?” A few more questions and Keith might figure it out himself. 

Whining at the questions Lance replies, “I mean yeah it’s nice to know who my soulmate is, I’ve always wanted nothing more than to protect them after seeing every bruise and wound inflicted on them. But now I’m not sure,” With this being Keith he decided to avoid actually revealing Lotor’s identity unless it was brought up. 

“Do they know you’re their soulmate?” Keith moves to lean against the wall, inferring that this conversation was going to last long enough to justify the support. 

Nodding Lance gulps, “I think we both figured it out when he arrived on the castle, but it was confirmed when he hurt himself to get my attention.” 

“Oh, so it’s a guy?” That should have been self explanatory when the only female on board as of now is Allura, who is taken by Shiro, but Lance confirms it nonetheless. Keith persists, “So who is it then?” 

Eyes widening in fear Lance bites his bottom lip and looks around at the surroundings, as if making sure someone isn’t lurking the halls at three in the morning. “ItmayormaynotbePrinceLotor.” His words come out in a mumble, all his words stringed together as Lance’s eyes avert to the floor with the hope that Keith wouldn’t actually hear him. 

“Excuse me? I didn’t understand anything you just said,” Keith is clearly exasperated, but that only eggs on Lance’s anxiety. 

A little louder now, “It’s Prince Lotor.” 

Apparently that’s enough for Keith to understand, the incredulous expression that sweeps his face is evidence enough and immediately following his stomach drops and a sense of dread sends Lance reeling. 

“Lance are you serious?” Keith seems to be conflicted between anger and confusion, “How do you know he wasn’t lying to you? Lotor could be using you to get to the team, it would be an easy way to gain everyone’s trust,” though the accusations hurt there is some truth to them. 

Scrubbing a hand at his neck Lance offers, “Well a few days ago I collapsed during a meeting because of my soulmate, and Lotor says he was shot by a stun gun after being betrayed by his generals. I doubt that would leave a scar, but I’m sure we share plenty others that you could check to confirm what I know to be true. Now that you know Hunk is your soulmate could you bring yourself to deny that you guys are soulmates, or do you feel a connection just like I do?” 

At the very least his scar from the stab wound should be physical evidence enough, but Lance couldn’t be sure what type of healing technology the galra has readily available for Lotor. The skin that is visible for the world to see is completely unmarred, so that does bring to question what scars the prince is left with. 

“As a last resort you could punch one of us in the gut and see if the other reacts,” Lance says sarcastically, though fully aware that Keith would follow through with the offer seriously if he isn’t careful. He’s received worse than a punch, but that doesn’t mean he’s asking for one. 

“I’m not going to do that,” Keith shifts uncomfortably between his feet, “Well, maybe Lotor will be partial to us knowing that you’re his soulmate. He won’t betray us if he has something to protect.” 

Raising an unimpressed eyebrow Lance retorts, “Just seconds ago you were skeptical to believe Lotor wasn’t lying, now you want to use the fact that we’re soulmates against him. Thanks for being so supportive.” He says this with slight humor to his tone, knowing that there was nothing normal about being soulmate’s with Lotor. 

Frowning Keith replies, “Well I doubt I’m the worst out of the others, you’re going to have to tell everyone and I can’t imagine what their reactions will be. Allura’s going to be furious.” 

“But she also understands what it means to find your soulmate, so I’m hoping instead of doing everything in her power to keep us away from each other she’ll instead see the benefits in our coming together. Eventually.” Lance says with a small amount of uncertainty, his claims only really backed up by his trust in a friend. There is the issue however that his soulmate is from the race that committed genocide on her race, which won’t help his case here.

“Well if that’s all,” Keith trails off leaning towards the door, likely eager to return to bed given the bizarre hour Lance came searching for Hunk. 

Looking aghast at Keith he can’t help his exasperation, “That’s all? Are you kidding me, I mean sure I’m supposed to be the first one to defend him cause he’s my soulmate but we have no idea what Lotor’s plans are. I’ll be the last one to say he’d be working with Zarkon, but Lotor could have his own motivations and if he betrays us I don’t know what I’ll do.” 

His panic must have been showing, escalating as scenarios run through his mind. Keith puts a hand to his shoulder, “What you need to do is relax, be yourself and I’m sure you could charm Lotor into abandoning his plans; honestly. I may not be ready to trust Lotor yet, but these things take time and you have a deep connection with him that will allow us to grasp a better understanding. Giving Lotor a chance may be worth it, even if it pains me to say so.” 

Relaxing under his hand Lance gives a small smile, “I know I’m probably being slightly unreasonable, but thank you anyways Keith. I’m still going to yell at Hunk tomorrow, per best friend duty he will be the second person to hear about this. Until then I’m going to get some shut eye, you should do the same Mullet.” Lance mock salutes as he walks away, cutting off any further conversation with his leave. 

The night felt long, but it would dull in comparison to the next day in which Lance would confront his teammates about this.

Except Lotor was at the breakfast table when Lance walked in fashionably late with no restraints which was enough to cause him to double take. It wasn’t that this put a wrench in his plans, but more so it left Lance with a nasty vertigo and a twisted gut. Rather than addressing that Lance headed straight to the kitchen where he found his gracious friend Hunk, just as expected, making breakfast. 

“Hunk, my buddy, my pal, I have some life changing news that I’ve wanted to tell you since last night,” Lance comes to rest against the counter.

Setting down a bowl that was previously in hand Hunk looks up, “You have my attention, what’s up?” 

“Well,” actually telling Hunk was going to be the hard part, “I recently figured out who my soulmate is and I’m kind of at a loss on what to do with this information.” 

Looking up with raised brow and pausing in his cooking Hunk treads carefully in speech, “Really, can I ask who it is?” 

Hesitating due to a moment of fear which threatened to takeover, nervous that Hunk may react poorly, Lance answers, “It’s actually Prince Lotor, which I guess makes sense with all the injuries he’s probably accumulated and the fact that when I passed out yesterday it was because of him. He confirmed that. We talked last night and I’m freaking out Hunk.” 

Rather than showing any disgust Hunk, thankfully, dropped what he was doing and nudged Lance in the right direction, “Hey it’s going to be okay, even if right now everything seems strange. Maybe right now you’re questioning everything, but I know things will work themselves out. You’ve always really cared about your soulmate Lance, and I doubt that’s changed even now that you know who he is.” 

“I just,” Lance sighs and looks back to the kitchen, “I can’t help but worry that this isn’t going to end well. Even though he’s my soulmate I still wonder if he’s going to double cross us, I can’t help the environment he was raised in.”

“No you can’t,” Lance flinches at Hunk’s words, “and I’m definitely not saying you can, or should, try to change him. That doesn’t mean you can’t help him, be the bridge that allows Lotor to integrate with Voltron. After all, Lotor could lead us into a new age of peace.” 

He knew Hunk was right, but after fighting the galra for so long taking that leap of faith was becoming progressively more difficult. Trusting Lotor at one point was the last thing Lance would ever consider, yet now here he is. 

“I don’t know how I’m going to tell everyone else, or how they’re going to react,” Lance slouches against the wall behind him with a frown and looking away from Hunk who radiated encouragement. 

Lance tried not to get annoyed with Hunk’s general cheerfulness, “That is assuming Lotor hasn’t already told the others,” Looking up wide eyed Lance gapes at Hunk, “But, from what I’ve come to know about Lotor he’s big on loyalty. I don’t think he’d tell them without asking you first.” 

Grumbling Lance says, “Yeah, he better not have. I can’t imagine how Allura’s going to react, or Keith who’s had a personal vendetta against Lotor, or Shiro who lost his arm to the galra, or-” 

Hunk interrupts and puts a comforting hand to his shoulder, “Lance it’s going to be fine, and you seem to forget that Lotor is half altean which means Allura will likely be thrilled, and Keith was saved by Lotor, and Shiro’s the last person I’d expect to hold a grudge. You have no reason to worry, now if that’s it I need to finish breakfast so you should go out there and talk to him.” 

After a light push in the direction of the dining hall Lance allows himself to be encouraged back into the dining room, where everyone but Pidge and Matt have taken there seats. Unsurprisingly there is an open seat on Lotor’s right, likely designated for him. It doesn’t however catch Lance off guard to see Lotor and Keith talking so freely, about what wasn’t important, but they were getting along and that’s what mattered. 

It was decided, Lance would tell Allura after breakfast once he’s seen how the paladins interact with Lotor in a more peaceful environment. Even then it wouldn’t matter, Lance knew what it meant to be soulmates and after everything they’ve been through together, despite being galaxies away, he would stay by the prince’s side. 

He can only hope that eventually Lotor can form an alliance with the coalition, and peace can be brought not only to the paladins but to the entire universe. Until then Lance is willing to wait for his prince.


End file.
